


Totally Platonic

by liamthebastard



Series: Various Christmas OTP Challenges [2]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Advent Calendar, Christmas Fluff, Fluff, M/M, background Lance/Gwen!!, oh god the fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-02
Updated: 2013-12-25
Packaged: 2018-01-03 07:00:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 25
Words: 13,216
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1067438
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/liamthebastard/pseuds/liamthebastard
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Arthur is <em>not</em> in love with his flatmate, okay? Shut up.</p><p>Merlin loves Christmas and drags Arthur along for the extremely-festive ride. Meanwhile, Arthur is trying desperately to hide not only his feelings for Merlin, but his jealous of Gwaine, who gains a lot of Merlin's holiday cheer.</p><p>Christmas 2013</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Putting Up Decorations

**Author's Note:**

> Yes I know I promised Chase I'd do Spirk this year, but then Merthur showed up and took over. Sorry, I'll do Spirk next year, pinky swear!

_Just… a little… further-_

“Fuck!” Merlin shouted, landing soundly on his back from the stepstool. Arthur stuck his head out of his bedroom, and promptly began laughing at Merlin’s predicament. “Shut up,” Merlin groaned, pushing himself upright from the ground. “If you would help with the decorating, I wouldn’t be _having_ this problem.”

Arthur shook his head. “You’re the one with the unhealthy holiday obsession _Mer_ lin, not me. If you want to hang holly all over the flat, fine, but I’m not helping you.” Still, he left his room and pushed the footstool closer to the wall. “Just set it like this, you’ll be fine.” Merlin climbed back onto the stool, glaring over his shoulder at Arthur as he did so, and hung the tinsel carefully on the wall. Arthur grinned smugly as Merlin got down to the ground. 

“I bet Gwaine will help me later,” Merlin said, pulling out his mobile.

“When’s Gwaine coming over?” Arthur asked, “I thought it was Lance’s turn to babysit him.” Gwaine made the rounds each week through everyone’s flats, having dinner and causing mayhem as he went, and usually only spent about one evening a week at his own place. 

“I told you last weekend, Gwen invited Lance to her house for a movie marathon or something, so we’ve got him twice. Don’t look at me like that, you love Gwaine and you know it,” Merlin said, scolding Arthur for his pout. “Now, come over here and hang these in the window.” Merlin shoved a handful of paper snowflakes into Arthur’s hands along with some tape. 

Arthur trudged over to the window and started taping the paper to the glass. “You know this is going to sweat and the snowflakes will fall right off,” he warned, but Merlin completely ignored him, still hanging tinsel around the fireplace and over the doorway while he hummed under his breath. His back was stretched out, his shirt riding up a bit and exposing the pale skin beneath it as he reached to hook the tinsel on a tack. Arthur breathed carefully through his nose, glancing away when Merlin relaxed back down off the tips of his toes. 

Keep it together, Pendragon.

“Speaking of Gwaine,” Arthur said, trying to be casual, “What are you going to say when he asks you out?” It came out just a little more stilted than he’d have liked, but at least it didn’t reveal the desperation he felt at the concept. He finished taping up the last snowflake and schooled his expression before turning around to find Merlin ready to hand him some fairy lights. 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Arthur,” Merlin said. “Hang these over the windows, the nails are still up from last year.” Arthur rolled his eyes. 

“Don’t play coy, Emrys. Gwaine’s been shooting you these moony looks for months, he’s gonna do it sooner or later, and I’d be prepared with an answer when he asks,” Arthur replied, trying to mask his jealousy with teasing while he looped the fairy lights over their hooks easily. 

Merlin scoffed. “I’m not being _coy_ , I’ve just got no idea what you mean,” Merlin said, setting out the candles Hunith had given him a few years ago. He lit one, smiling as the smell of peppermint began to fill the room. “Gwaine’s a great guy, don’t get me wrong. I just don’t think –hang on, you’ve got it twisted– he’s interested in me that way.” Merlin untangled the ends of the lights and plugged them in while Arthur stepped back to admire his work. 

“Now I _know_ you’re joking. He comes at your beck and call!” Arthur exclaimed. 

“Yeah, just like I come every time _you_ call,” Merlin said thoughtlessly, blowing the bangs out of his face and flushing a bit at the implications. “You know what I mean,” he clarified lamely, but Arthur was already laughing at the unintended joke. Merlin shoved at his shoulders. “You’re twelve, you know that? Actually twelve years old.” He shook his head while Arthur laughed. “Clotpole.”


	2. Making Christmas Cards

“No. No, this is where I put my foot down,” Arthur insisted, crossing his arms firmly to ward off Merlin’s puppy dog eyes. Merlin flashed them anyway, even getting Gwaine to pout in Arthur direction over the empty bowl of mashed potatoes. “No! I am _not_ sending my father a Christmas card.” 

Gwaine laughed, “What? Is Papa Pendragon an _actual_ dragon, or are you just chicken?” Merlin guffawed over his drink, only smirking when Arthur shot him a glare and refusing to look away from Gwaine’s laughing face. A hot stab of jealousy hit Arthur in the stomach, making him scowl down at the food Merlin had made for the evening. 

Merlin grinned and started to clear away the plates and carry them into the kitchenette. The moment he was out of earshot, Gwaine leaned closer to Arthur. “So, um, I wanted to ask you something. Are you and Merlin…?”

“Are me and Merlin what?” Arthur snapped. He loved Gwaine, honestly, like a brother, but if he didn’t shut up soon, Arthur was going to punch him.

“You know. Doing the horizontal tango? Parking your yacht in his harbor? Bumping uglies?” Gwaine beamed lecherously.

“God, stop, okay, god!” Arthur chuckled against his will, and then sobered up quickly. “No, we- we aren’t. Nothing like that.” He tried not to sound regretful, but judging by the way Gwaine was looking at him, he’d failed. “Don’t look at me like that.” 

Gwaine shook his head. “I’m not looking at you like anything.” He sipped at his water, looking uncharacteristically grim. “But… Arthur, if there’s a chance Merlin might say yes to me, I’m gonna take it.” Arthur nodded, it wasn’t any more than he expected, and really, he couldn’t fault Gwaine one bit.

Merlin crashed back into the dining room, setting a dozen cards down on the table where the plates had been. “Gwaine, can you read us the names from that list while I make out the cards? Arthur, no complaining, you just have to sign the damn things and we’ll send them out to my family and yours –yes your father too, don’t start– and we can be done with it, alright?” He unceremoniously shoved a pen into Arthur’s hand and began scribbling onto the card designated for Hunith. Arthur moaned and whinged, but actually took the time to write out a few nice messages to the recipients he liked. Morgana got a snarky comment, Hunith a heartfelt thanks for the time she put into making sure he and Merlin didn’t burn down the flat, Gwen for being a frankly fantastic friend, and Lance for… well, being Lance. Gwaine, who was wasting time between rattling off names by reading the cards, kept shooting him these little knowing _looks_ , annoying Arthur to no end. 

Finally, the last card signed and being sealed by Merlin in an envelope while Gwaine stuck stamps onto the ones already sealed, Arthur stood and stepped to the kitchen. “I need a beer,” he said quickly, retreating to the kitchen to drink in peace. And no, he didn’t hover with his back to the door just so he could hear what Merlin and Gwaine were going to talk about. It was just… a comfortable place to drink. Yeah.

“So, Merlin,” he heard Gwaine begin, and his stomach dropped. He knew that voice, it was Gwaine’s about-to-pick-someone-up voice, he’d heard it used in pubs and clubs across the entire country. And Merlin, well, Merlin was going to melt like butter under it. “I was wondering if you’d like to go get dinner sometime, just the two of us?” 

Arthur held his breath, the half-empty beer clutched in his hands until his knuckles were white, and Merlin still hadn’t replied. 

“I- I don’t think so, Gwaine. I’m not really looking for anyone right now, it’s nothing against you,” Merlin said lowly, his voice even and firm. Every muscle in Arthur’s body relaxed and he let out a quiet sigh. He shouldn’t feel this relieved, but thank god Merlin had said no. They were still talking, Gwaine saying something and then there was the sound of the front door opening and closing –probably Gwaine leaving, heading out to let the air settle. “You can come out now, you know,” Merlin said from behind him, making Arthur jump. Merlin was grinning at having gotten the drop on Arthur, but the blond stepped past him and pointed a finger warningly at his flatmate.

“Not a word, _Mer_ lin, not a word.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oops how did angst get here


	3. Sitting/Snuggling in Front of the Couch with Hot Cocoa/Tea

Arthur woke up to a bony finger prodding him repeated in the shoulder. He cracked open one eye and immediately hissed as he realized just how cold it was in the flat. He’d passed out on the couch again, thankfully Merlin had draped a large comforter over him. “Jesus, Merlin, what the hell? It’s the North Pole in here!” Arthur grumbled. Merlin frowned, and tugged the blanket he held tighter around him. 

“I _know_ Arthur, that’s why I’m here. My room’s even colder, and the heating won’t turn on,” Merlin whined, looking small and fragile swimming in the blanket.

“Well what do you want me to do about it?” Arthur said, burrowing further down into the blankets and savoring the warmth. 

Merlin gave a shiver. “Budge over, you’re sharing tonight,” Merlin declared, pushing his way onto the right side of the couch. Arthur scooted over without thinking, and by the time he realized how ill advised the arrangement was, Merlin was curling up against his side and sighing happily. Arthur sighed, and reluctantly slid his arm around Merlin so he could settle comfortably. Not so he could feel Merlin’s breath raising and lowering his chest, and soothe away the shivers that were wracking his body. Just because the couch was small and he had to hold Merlin close or he would fall off. Definitely. He drifted back off surrounded by warmth and the tiny snuffling sounds of Merlin’s snores. 

 

The next morning, Arthur woke up cold. The warmth that had wrapped around him while he’d slept had abandoned him, leaving him cold and shivering on the couch despite his blankets. Arthur refused to even open his eyes, hopeful that if he kept acting like he was asleep, the lovely warmth would come back. 

“Sit up, you prat, I made hot chocolate,” a voice said, yanking the covers down a bit and letting in more cold. 

“’m up, ‘m up,” Arthur muttered, blinking blearily as Merlin yanked him upright with his free hand. A steaming mug of hot chocolate was shoved into his hands while Merlin tucked himself up next to Arthur with a mug of his own. “Hot chocolate?” Arthur asked. Merlin didn’t like cooking. He wasn’t bad at it, he simply wasn’t fond of any aspect of it, from the uncomfortable heat of the oven to the various nicks and burns intrinsic to the act. 

“I figured I owed you one, after using you as my personal body heater,” Merlin answered, pressing closer and grinning. Arthur’s heart did a little flip as Merlin arched into the contact, sipping contentedly at his hot chocolate like he wasn’t actively turning Arthur’s world over. Arthur sighed and took a sip of his drink. As dull as Merlin found cooking, he certainly had some flair for it. The cocoa was brilliant, and helped warm Arthur up in addition to Merlin’s proximity. 

“Any plans for today?” Arthur asked, knowing Merlin would have a thousand and one different things he wanted to get done, and also well aware that somehow he would manage to finish them all before he collapsed from exhaustion in his bed. Or the kitchen table. It had been known to happen. 

“Yes,” Merlin said. “We’re going Christmas shopping.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I'm behind, I meant to post this after Supernatural on Tuesday but well, my favorite character bit the big one, and so I was busy crying. Tuesday's, Wednesday's, and today's are all going up today.


	4. Shopping for and/or Wrapping Gifts

Somehow, Merlin escaped carrying any of the shopping bags while Arthur was laden down like a camel. The dark haired boy skipped up the steps to their flat as Arthur trudged behind with bags that banged against his legs with every step. “C’mon, Arthur, we’ve got to get wrapping!” Merlin called from their open flat door, with Arthur a half flight of stairs away.

“It’s not like the presents are going anywhere,” Arthur replied. He and Merlin had long ago decided that since their Christmas lists were practically identical, they should just combine the gifts in order to make things easier on them both. 

Merlin rolled his eyes and darted inside. Arthur finally caught up and when he got there Merlin was already laying out the wrapping supplies. “I don’t see why we can’t just put them in gift bags,” Arthur whinged. Merlin looked scandalized at the prospect and started to unroll the wrapping paper. Arthur started to unspool the ribbon to do the scissor spiral thing that his mother used to do, that Merlin was patently incapable of doing and insisted that Arthur was skilled at. It was the only part of the wrapping Arthur was allowed to participate in, seeing as one year he had used so much tape to keep Morgana’s present wrapped that it had taken the combined effort of her sharpened finger nails and Leon’s pocketknife just to open it. 

While Merlin neatly taped corners and glided the scissors across the paper in a way Arthur could never master no matter how often he tried, Arthur was long done with the ribbons. Rather than interfere with Merlin’s wrapping process, Arthur chose to sit and watch while Merlin finished his work. The light in the living room was golden, and gave Merlin’s normally pale skin a warm glow that suited him a little too well for Arthur’s comfort. The blond shifted uncomfortably, trying to ignore his heart and the way it felt like it was going to beat out of his chest. 

Merlin made a triumphant noise, startling Arthur out of his observation of the man. “Done!” Merlin proclaimed, the ribbon stuck onto the top of the gift. “Completely done!” 

Arthur smirked, noticing he’d made too many ribbons once more. Rather than dispose of them, he picked them up and sprinkled the red shiny ribbon across Merlin’s hair. Merlin squawked in surprise, but settled down a moment later. 

“So am I to be your gift this year?” Merlin laughed, plucking some of the ribbon free and running it between his fingers. Arthur refused to reply, and simply stacked up the presents and put them in the closet by the front door so they could take them away easily when the time came. When Arthur turned back around, Merlin was critically studying the sitting room. “Arthur,” he said, his voice lilting at the end to make it a question, “how big of a tree do you think we can get?”

“I thought we were going to use the artificial one, you know I hate vacuuming the needles,” Arthur complained. Merlin turned, eyes already gone large and begging. Arthur tried to hold back, refusing to acknowledge the look, but it didn’t take long before he caved. “Fine, fine. Fine. But no more than six feet tall!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am a bad fic writer, I really need to catch up on this! Hopefully I'll get them out today, but I make no promises because obviously when I do I fail on them haha


	5. Picking Out a Christmas Tree

“Remind me why we have to get a real tree?” Arthur asked.

“Because,” Merlin said, with the air of one imparting great wisdom, “Real trees are better than plastic ones. They smell better, look better, and make Christmas better.” He didn’t seem cold at all, out in the snow, the little arse, buried in that ridiculously orange marshmallow coat and bright red scarf. Arthur had refused to buy a coat like that, claiming it looked silly, which it did by the way. However, it was apparently the warmest coat to ever exist. Certainly warmer than the leather coat Arthur was wearing, even with its alleged thermal lining. Judging by the pink in Merlin’s cheeks and the wide grin spread over his face, he was decently comfortable, while Arthur was shivering quietly as they paced up and down the tree lot. 

They’d already been there a solid half hour, but Merlin had found something wrong with every tree Arthur pointed out. Finally, another ten minutes later, as Arthur was despairing of ever finding an actual tree, Merlin gasped in delight. He took off, leaving Arthur to jog lightly after him as he ran to the end of the row. “This one!” Merlin proclaimed, tugging on a lower branch. He was practically glowing with excitement. Arthur frowned.

“That’s a least seven feet, Merlin!” Arthur exclaimed. 

“And? We’ve got high ceilings, you made sure of that. There’s plenty of room for it!” Merlin cajoled. 

“ _Mer_ lin,” Arthur groaned, “It’s huge!”

“You say that like it’s a _bad_ thing, Arthur. It’s perfect, and we’re getting it, and there is nothing you can say that will convince me otherwise, so I suggest you just help me get it home.” Merlin’s voice had turned stubborn in a way it rarely did. That voice was guaranteed to its way, regardless of what Arthur wanted, and frankly, when Merlin got like this, there really _wasn’t_ anything Arthur could do except go along with it. 

“Fine. But we’re having it delivered. There’s no way in hell I’m hauling that up the stairs,” Arthur said, and Merlin beamed, making Arthur feel marginally warmer as he blushed. Hopefully, Merlin would attribute the blush to the cold wind and not to anything else. Merlin ran off to find the proprietor of the lot and schedule the delivery while Arthur stood by the chosen tree and waited. 

The owner came over quickly, and promised same-day delivery as he sent the pair on their way. Arthur only watched indulgently as Merlin walked backwards down the sidewalk, talking animatedly about the different ways they could decorate the tree. He even brought his hands into, and was so intent on illustrating his points that Arthur had to tug him out of a collision with a pole or other pedestrians more than once. “You’re a menace, Merlin,” Arthur proclaimed. Merlin just smiled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember, I've never actually gotten a real Christmas tree. Bear with me.


	6. Decorating the Tree

“Gwen and Lance are coming over to help decorate, so straighten up!” Merlin shouted from the kitchen. Arthur groaned. 

“Gwen lived here for two years, she knows what we’re like!” he argued, but even with a wall between them Arthur could feel Merlin glaring. “Fine, I’m cleaning, I’m cleaning,” Arthur said, straightening up magazines and grabbing the various cups that somehow always congregated on the end table.

By the time Gwen and Lance arrived, arms laden with tinsel and cookies, the living room was spotless. Gwen was impressed. 

“You boys are doing just fine on your own,” she said proudly, setting down the platter of gingerbread men on the coffee table while Lance set the box of tinsel by the tree where Arthur and Merlin had put it.

Lance laughed. “Merlin talked you into a larger tree, didn’t he,” he said, gesturing to where the tree nearly scraped the ceiling. Gwen immediately started laughing, and Arthur turned crimson.

“Yes, I most certainly did!” Merlin announced, emerging from the kitchen with hot cocoa. “And not a word, Guinevere, you know it’s amazing,” he said, pointing a spoon at her threateningly. Gwen just smiled at him and held out a biscuit, which Merlin immediately took and started to munch on while he pulled out boxes of ornaments from the hall closet. While Lance and Arthur started to talk football, Gwen began draping the tinsel around the tree. 

When she was completely consumed in her work, Lance tugged Arthur a bit further from her and spoke in a hushed voice. “I’ve got to tell you something, and I need you to tell me if it’s crazy,” Lance said quietly. 

Arthur nodded and glanced over his shoulder to make sure Merlin was busy as well. He was still trying to reach the box of lights on the highest shelf; it should keep him busy for a bit. 

“On New Year’s Eve, I’m going to ask Gwen to marry me,” Lance whispered. Arthur’s face broke into a grin. 

“That’s brilliant, Lance, congratulations,” Arthur said, keeping his voice down while still showing his enthusiasm. 

“You don’t think it’s too soon? We’ve only been together a year, she just moved in six months ago. Are we rushing things?” Lance asked. He so rarely looked vulnerable, but right then Arthur could tell he was terrified. 

Arthur shook his head at his friend. “No, of course not. You two are… you’re perfect together. Anybody can see that!” he insisted when Lance looked doubtful. “It’s like you were made for each other, Lance. She’ll say yes, and everyone will tell you it’s about time.”

Lance relaxed a little bit, and smiled broadly. “Really?”

“Yes, definitely. Now go help her with the tinsel, she’s about to run out of height,” Arthur said, gesturing to where Gwen was standing on her tiptoes. Lance nodded, and right before he left, he turned back. 

“Arthur? People say the same about you and Merlin,” Lance said, and spun to help Gwen while Arthur stood there spluttering like an idiot.

“You look like a fish with your mouth open like that,” Merlin said, making Arthur jump. “Here, start hanging.” Merlin filled Arthur’s hands with the baubles they always hung up first, before the actually important ornaments. 

As Merlin was the one who actually owned most of the ornaments, he was the one who got to put the star atop the tree. Through some wizardry, he managed to get it on and avoid scraping the ceiling. Arthur still wasn’t sure it was physically possible, but there it was. Once they managed to step away from the biscuits for more than a minute, the ornaments were all hung and the decorating was essentially done. Lance and Gwen stuck around for about another hour, drinking hot chocolate and eventually a bit of eggnog –“But not too much!” Gwen commented, “I’ve got work tomorrow.”– before they bid Merlin and Arthur a good night. Gwen and Merlin took a few more minutes to chat, and Lance grabbed Arthur by the elbow as he and Gwen were leaving. 

“I mean it, Arthur. You should tell him,” Lance said, and then they were both gone. 

Arthur turned around, and saw Merlin gazing happily at the tree. He looked- well, he looked gorgeous. Lit up by the fire and shining with excitement as he watched the tree’s lights twinkle. Lance was right. It was time to tell him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gwaine is with Percy right now. He'll be back though! Also, Gwen/Lance is so cute I die every time I write them.


	7. Mistletoe

Arthur took a deep, steadying breath and walked into the sitting room. “Merlin?” he said tentatively. “I- I need to tell you something.” Merlin glanced up, the serious tone of Arthur’s voice obviously worrying him.

“Okay, but can we do it in the kitchen? I’ve got to put these biscuits away before they go stale,” Merlin said, gesturing to the gingerbread Gwen had insisted on leaving with them. Arthur nodded, and prayed he didn’t cock this up like he had so many other things. 

“So, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking, Merlin,” Arthur began.

“Always dangerous with you,” Merlin said mildly, “Here, hold this open for me.” A plastic bag was put in Arthur’s hands and Merlin started to put the biscuits into them. 

“Yes, yes, I know, but what I’m trying to say is- hey, wait a minute!” Arthur exclaimed, realizing belatedly he’d been insulted. Merlin grinned impishly but kept putting the biscuits into the bag while Arthur tried to get back to what he was saying. “I mean, I’ve been thinking about our friendship a lot, and-”

Merlin finished with the biscuits and stepped back. “Actually, Arthur, can we do this later? I’ve just remembered, I promised Freya I’d help out at the toy drive and I’ve got to run.” Merlin half-sprinted out of the kitchen, leaving Arthur standing there with a bag of gingerbread men and an incredible amount of confusion. 

Surely it had been clear where Arthur was going, wasn’t it? Merlin had run off so quickly… perhaps he didn’t want Arthur. Maybe he’d made his friend incredibly uncomfortable. Maybe Lance had been wrong. Maybe Gwaine had been wrong. Maybe _everyone_ had completely misinterpreted everything, and now their friendship was going to be awkward and things would change and- No. Arthur hadn’t been imagining the looks Merlin had been giving him, and even if he had, their friendship had _already_ changed. Even if it meant Merlin rejected him, Arthur wouldn’t be able to sleep properly until he told Merlin the truth. 

 

Merlin was gone half the night, and when he finally came back, Arthur had been pacing the hallway for at least an hour. The brunet came in, looking exhausted, and widened his eyes when he saw Arthur waiting for him. Arthur knew he looked wild; his hair was crazy from when he’d run his hands through it in stress and he’d drunk way too much coffee for a lack of things to do, lending him a jittery appearance. Merlin seemed startled, but before he could say anything, Arthur pointed to above the doorway, where he’d hung a sprig of greenery with white berries. 

Arthur stepped forward, unwilling to give Merlin a chance to run until after he’d made his intentions clear. If, after this, Merlin wanted to leave, Arthur wouldn’t stand in his way. But he wouldn’t be able to live with himself if he didn’t take this one chance. And Merlin wasn’t pulling away. He seemed frozen in place as Arthur stepped closer and slid a hand over his hip. Arthur leaned in, and gently brushed his lips over Merlin’s. Merlin still didn’t move, so Arthur pulled back and stepped away. 

“Sorry, it’s just- mistletoe,” Arthur said, gesturing to the plant, “And I thought- but you obviously don’t so I’m going to go now and- mmph!” Merlin launched himself into Arthur’s arms, kissing him soundly and wrapping his arms around Arthur’s neck to tangle his fingers in the short blond hair at the base of Arthur’s skull. 

Arthur melted, slipping his hands firmly around Merlin’s waist and holding the man close. He’d waited so long for this, for Merlin warm and solid against him, wanting him, he couldn’t help but savor the chaste press of lips before it became too much to hold back and he simply had to open his lips and actually taste Merlin. He tasted like the peppermint mochas he’s addicted to, and Arthur pulled away, just for a moment, dropping a small kiss on Merlin’s bottom lip as a bit of Dutch courage before he spoke. 

“You weren’t helping Freya,” Arthur said quietly. Merlin shook his head. “Then why did you leave?” Arthur asked, hating how desperate he sounded. 

Merlin hesitated. “I thought- I didn’t realize you were-” He stalled out, and Arthur had to lightly kiss him on the cheek. A speechless Merlin was too adorable to _not_ kiss. Merlin took a breath, and spoke again. “I thought you’d figured me out, and didn’t want to be friends anymore.” Merlin’s voice was small and still held an echo of his fear. 

“Figured you out how?” Arthur asked, putting their foreheads together in an attempt to comfort Merlin. 

“That I- that this is something I wanted,” Merlin stammered, gesturing to the pair of them, clinging to each other in the doorway. “I thought you’d found me out, and wanted to leave.”

Arthur scowled at the thought. “No, no,” he said, kissing Merlin’s forehead. “I- I wouldn’t leave. I _won’t_ leave. Especially not now.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally. Freaking finally. Somewhere, Gwen and Lance are punching the air and Gwaine is shrugging to himself and getting beers for himself and Percy.


	8. Making Snowmen

“Arthur! Arthur, wake up!” Merlin shouted, leaping onto Arthur’s bed and bouncing on the springy mattress until Arthur cracked an eye open. “It snowed, we’ve got to go outside _right now_ ,” Merlin insisted. He was already bundled up and ready to go. “Please, Arthur?” 

The blond groans. Morning Merlin is bad enough, but a Merlin already excited and pink-cheeked? Not fighting fair. “All right, I’m up. I’ll be out in a minute, go make coffee,” Arthur instructed. Merlin jumped off the bed and rocketed out of the room towards the kitchen. Arthur stumbled into his thickest trousers and pulled a warm jumper over his shirt. The moment his boots were on, he stepped out into the hallway and immediately was faced by Merlin, with a travel mug of coffee in one hand and Arthur’s coat in the other. 

“Let’s _go_ , Arthur!” Merlin exclaimed, shoving Arthur into the coat and forcing the coffee into one of his hands as he grabbed the other and dragged Arthur out the door and down the stairs while Arthur yanked on his hat. Arthur let Merlin lead him across the street to the park and even let him talk him into helping him build a snowman, even as toddlers and small children around them did the same, much to the amusement of the parents in the vicinity. 

Arthur started pushing a large amount of snow into the base of the snowman while Merlin hunted for sticks to make the arms. By the time the bottom ball of the snowman was built up, Merlin was working on the middle section. They put the head on together, grinning widely at each other when it stayed atop the body, perfectly balanced. Merlin stuck on the nose, while Arthur played with the charcoal eyes, even putting on some eyebrows made from pipe cleaners he’d stashed in his pocket for precisely this reason. Merlin made a delighted noise at the addition, and grinned up at Arthur from where he was crouched putting buttons down the snowman’s front. 

Merlin stood up and looked at the snowman appraisingly. “Almost perfect,” he proclaimed, then reached over and snatched Arthur’s hat away and stuck it on top of the snowman’s head. “Perfect!” he declared, and danced just outside of Arthur’s reach when Arthur tried to muss up his hair in retaliation. 

Foiled in that, Arthur leaped towards Merlin and tackled him into the snow, laughing as Merlin let out a surprised squeak. “That ought to teach you to steal my hat,” Arthur chided playfully. Merlin grinned. 

“You sure? I rather think this turned out in my favor,” Merlin replied, leaning his head up and catching Arthur’s lips in a chilly kiss. Arthur gave a surprised laugh, but sank into the kiss until one of the nearby mothers gave a tasteful cough, reminding them of where they were.

They both started giggling and couldn’t stop even as they stood and brushed the snow from each other’s coats. Arthur darted in for one more, quick kiss before stepping fully away. “C’mon, let’s go inside and warm up a bit,” he said. Merlin nodded, his teeth had already started to chatter from the chill of the snow. They grabbed hands and raced across the street towards the flat, leaving the snowman, and Arthur’s hat, behind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think I've turned Merlin into me... oops


	9. Wearing Ugly Christmas Jumpers

When they crashed back inside, snow had melted and was starting to dribble down the back of their shirts, making both the men shiver and laugh at the sudden chill. Merlin insisted they leave their coats and winter wear in the bathroom to dry, dangling over the tub so any water would drain away. 

Once the coats, gloves, scarves and hats were hanging up, Arthur stepped into his room and rummaged around for his warmest clothes. The shirt he’d worn was damp and cold, and the pants were soaked with melting snow. Arthur felt around the bottom of his drawers blindly, finding by touch a thick jumper and taking it immediately into the bathroom so he could hang up his clothes to dry with the outerwear. He tugged the jumper on without bothering to look and stepped into a new pair of jeans before he headed out into the sitting room to curl up on the couch. 

When he got there, Merlin was already on the sofa reading; his long limbs sprawled over the whole thing. Arthur simply lifted up Merlin’s legs, settled himself underneath, and set Merlin’s feet into his lap. Merlin glanced up as Arthur lifted his feet, and immediately began snickering. “What?” Arthur asked. Merlin lifted the book up to muffle his laughter.

“Nothing…” Merlin choked out between laughs. Arthur leveled a glare, and Merlin let out an even louder laugh and a series of small giggles that might have been the cutest thing Arthur had ever heard, but it didn’t soften his glare any. “Just… your jumper…” And Merlin was lost again, his book abandoned to his lap as he curled up in helpless peals of laughter. 

Arthur looked down at his jumper in panic, half-expecting a spider or something equally awful. Instead, he found three reindeer… atop each other. A reindeer threesome. Brilliant. “In my defense,” Arthur said, “Gwaine gave it to me. I didn’t realise this was the one I grabbed!” Merlin ignored Arthur’s protests and continued to laugh, at one point nearly falling off the sofa he was giggling so hard. “Shut it!” Arthur said, tossing Merlin’s legs off his lap and forcing the other man to curl tighter to make room for Arthur to draw his knees up and pout. 

“Don’t mope,” Merlin finally said, after his laughter had died down. He climbed up to his knees and crawled down the sofa to Arthur. “Your face will stick that way you know,” he warned when Arthur stuck his bottom lip out defiantly. Arthur simply did it harder until Merlin laughed again and kissed him on the cheek. Merlin played fondly with his hair, and nuzzled a bit at Arthur’s neck to get a chuckle. “It’s not that bad,” Merlin said, trailing a hand over the fornicating reindeer. 

“Guess not,” Arthur said, leaning over to give Merlin a soft kiss. Merlin grinned happily, and seemed to bask in the attention, frowning when Arthur pulled away. “Let’s stay in today, yeah? Do something sickeningly domestic.”

Merlin sniggered. “Sickeningly domestic sounds perfect.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You all know the jumper I mean. Heck yeah. Also, I've always wanted to use the phrase "fornicating reindeer" in a fic, and now I've done it.


	10. Baking Holiday Treats

Somehow, Merlin was covered in batter. And not splattered, not speckled, but completely covered. Smears of chocolate covered most of his face, it was on his shirt, and even his ears sported little caps of brownie mix. In contrast, Arthur was nearly spotless, except for his index finger where he kept dipping it in to taste the batter. 

“Quit tasting!” Merlin said, while Arthur licked the batter from his finger. He reached out and swatted Arthur’s hand away from the bowl. 

“No!” Arthur said, leaning over and licking a little bit of batter from Merlin’s cheek. Merlin squealed and squirmed away. Somehow their plan to bake brownies had devolved to fighting over the batter bowl on the kitchen floor. Merlin had won –if you could call catching the splash of batter when Arthur released the bowl halfway through a tug-of-war winning– and managed to put some batter in a pan and slide it into the oven. Brownies were being made, if only theoretically. Arthur wasn’t certain they counted as brownies if they were only ten centimeters thick. 

Merlin pushed at Arthur’s shoulder playfully, making him fall back onto the floor. Arthur grabbed Merlin’s shoulder on the way down, tugging him down onto his own chest. His heart beat against Arthur’s chest, high and fast like a bird’s while he laughed, and Arthur was lost. He leaned down and peppered Merlin’s forehead and hair with soft kisses, unable to break away for too long. Merlin tilted up and met Arthur in a chocolaty kiss. 

“I have something kinda crazy to say,” Arthur muttered, pressing his lips to Merlin’s cheek gently and trailing his mouth down to his pale throat. 

“Crazy like _let’s steal Gwen’s car for a midnight beer run it’ll go fine_ or crazy like… do you have another kind of crazy?” Merlin gasped a little, arching his neck to better meet Arthur’s mouth. 

Arthur chuckled, nipping at Merlin’s skin a bit in retaliation. “Yes, I do have a different kind of crazy. You need to pay better attention,” he said. 

“I pay attention just fine, Arthur, you’re just a one-crazy kind of man,” Merlin said, tilting down and taking Arthur’s bottom lip in his own and nibbling it softly. Before pressing another kiss to Arthur’s cheek and jaw. 

“ _Mer_ lin,” Arthur groaned, “I’m trying to talk here.” Merlin completely ignored him and kept on with his meandering kisses. There wasn’t any rhyme or reason to where they landed, but Arthur was completely caught. 

“And I’m trying to shut you up,” Merlin said. “Which of us is more successful here.” Arthur shrugged a bit. 

“Fair point,” Arthur said, “but this _is_ kind of important.” Merlin propped himself up against Arthur’s chest on his forearms and looked down at Arthur serenely. Arthur flushed at the sudden attention. “I- um- I-” 

_Beep_.

The timer on the brownies went off. Merlin perked up, rolled away from Arthur and stood up. He grabbed the potholders and tugged the brownies from the oven, slamming Arthur with a wave of heat and washing the entire flat with the smell of warm chocolate. Merlin set the pan up to cool, and Arthur stayed sprawled out on the floor, looking up at Merlin while he worked. “It’s a miracle you didn’t burn yourself,” he said while Merlin poked at the brownies. 

“It’s a miracle I didn’t burn _them_ ,” Merlin replied. “But is that really your all-important sentence?” 

Arthur studied Merlin for a minute, from the albeit rather odd perspective of their kitchen floor. “For now,” he conceded.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Brownies are totally holiday treats. Totally. And god these guys are adorable, I'm going to lose it.


	11. Snogging in Front of the Fireplace

Merlin scraped the super-thin brownies out onto a plate and dragged Arthur to sit in front of the fireplace. Arthur got up and kindled a fire, making sure Merlin was well away from the flames; knowing him, he’d somehow ignite and wind up eyebrowless for the next month. He settled back down next to Merlin, who was happily munching on the incredibly thin brownies. 

“They’re more biscuit than brownie,” Arthur commented as he chewed on one. Merlin made a face at him and set the plate aside. 

“Shut up, clotpole,” Merlin said. Before Arthur could say anything in retribution, Merlin sat up and grinned mischievously. The dark-haired man swung a leg over Arthur’s lap and shifted until he was kneeling over Arthur with a smirk. 

“Make me,” Arthur replied, taking the obvious route. Merlin looked delighted at the response, and leaned down to catch Arthur’s lips in his teeth, and tug at them gently before finally kissing him properly. 

Arthur couldn’t imagine ever tiring of this, of Merlin warm and soft around him and the taste of Merlin heady and sweet on his tongue. He tugged Merlin closer, savoring the small gasp the movement earned him, and tangled a hand in his dark tangle of hair as he changed the angle of the kiss, deepening it and drawing a moan out of Merlin. 

“Well then,” a voice said. Merlin leapt back and Arthur peered over his shoulder to see who was speaking. 

“Gwaine…” Arthur groaned, leaning back onto the floor in abject annoyance. Merlin was bright red, from the tips of his ears down across his face, and as cute as that look was for him, Arthur was still irked with Gwaine. “Do you mind?” Merlin swatted Arthur on the shoulder. 

“Sorry, Gwaine, I forgot to tell him you were coming by,” Merlin apologized. Gwaine looked nearly as uncomfortable as Merlin, and Arthur abruptly remembered that Gwaine was one of his best friends, who had just walked in on Arthur snogging someone he was interested in. Arthur immediately leapt up from the floor. 

He walked over and slapped Gwaine on the back. “Sorry ‘bout that, if he’d told me, I wouldn’t have… well, yeah,” he finished awkwardly. Gwaine just shook his head with a small smile. 

“At least you finally got on with it, the pining was getting out of hand,” he said. 

“I know, he nearly threw himself at me,” Arthur said jokingly. 

Merlin groaned and buried his face in the carpet. “I hate you both.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gwaine has returned!!


	12. Watching a Classic Holiday Film

Gwaine had brought a tin of popcorn, so Merlin insisted they sit down to watch It’s a Wonderful Life, just like he did every year. Arthur suffered through, letting Merlin quote along with the movie while he and Gwaine watched in amusement. 

“I don’t know why he likes this thing,” Arthur muttered around a mouthful of popcorn. They were seated on the couch, Merlin and Gwaine on either side while Arthur sat in the middle with an arm around Merlin’s shoulder. Merlin shoved lightly at Arthur’s shoulder. 

“Because it’s lovely, that’s why,” Merlin said, stealing the popcorn tin and shoveling a handful into his mouth. Arthur tried to steal it back, but Merlin fended him off with one hand while he eyes were still glued to the television. Gwaine watched, a little sadness in his eyes, and guilt pricked at Arthur’s mind. He couldn’t help it though, now that he was allowed to touch Merlin, he couldn’t stop, not even for his friends. 

Merlin noticed the frown, and pushed at Arthur’s hands half-heartedly. He noticed the television again, and sat up, like a dog seeing something on the street. “Every time a bell rings an angel gets his wings,” Merlin quoted along with the film. Arthur hit him with a pillow. 

Gwaine used the distraction to reach over Arthur and steal the popcorn away from Merlin, munching on it happily while Arthur and Merlin squabbled over the pillows. “Princess, put the pillow down. You know Merlin’s gonna win,” Gwaine teased. Arthur looked over towards Gwaine, pillow still raised in one hand, and as he looked back to Merlin, a pillow came down and smacked him over the head, hard. 

“Fuck!” Arthur shouted, glaring at Merlin playfully. Gwaine laughed loudly as Arthur tried to swing at Merlin but Merlin ducked under it and dove closer to jab at the ticklish spot just under Arthur’s ribs. “Not fair, _Mer_ lin,” Arthur chided through giggles. 

“All’s fair in love and war, Pendragon,” Merlin replied. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry sorry sorry finals have kicked in and frankly its hell. I've got a concert tonight but afterwards I'll post if I've got time. If not, look for the other updates tomorrow.


	13. Listening to/Playing Festive Music

“If you aren’t out here in five minutes I’m coming in there and dragging you out myself!” Morgana threatened from outside Arthur’s bedroom door. He and Merlin both looked up startled from the bed where they were both sitting. 

Arthur glanced to Merlin. “Why is my sister here?” he asked. He and Morgana had an interesting relationship; they traded barbs constantly, but underneath it they held each other in fairly high regard. 

Merlin gave a sheepish smile. “I may have told Morgana I’d go visit my mum with her… and maybe mentioned you’d come too,” Merlin said, dodging quickly when Arthur aimed a soft punch at him. 

“I hate you,” Arthur groaned, flinging himself back onto the bed. 

“Arthur Pendragon you get out here right now or so help me I will tell Merlin all about what _really_ happened with Elena!” Merlin perked up in Arthur’s peripheral, but Arthur was already flying across the room to throw open the door. 

“Not a word, Morgs, not a word, or I’ll tell Father why Catrina left so suddenly when we all went to Venice,” Arthur replied vehemently. Morgana gave a pointed smile, her teeth looking even whiter and sharper due to the bright red lipstick she wore. 

“Promises, promises, brother,” she said, grabbing him by the wrist and tugging him to the door. “Gwen and Lance are waiting, let’s go!” Merlin trailed behind them, laughing as Morgana tried to adjust Arthur’s clothes to ‘neaten him up’ before they went out. Arthur pushed her off and tugged on a coat and scarf while Merlin serenely put on his outerwear.

Gwen and Lance had brought Lance’s car up for them to take out to the suburbs, and so had claimed the front seat for themselves. This left Merlin to get squeezed in the middle of the back seat between Arthur and Morgana while the siblings continued bickering over God knew what. To compete, Gwen clicked on the radio and tuned in to a Christmas station. Soon, Carol of the Bells was blaring loud enough to drown out Arthur’s grumbling and Morgana’s laughter, and Merlin was able to settle in somewhat comfortably for the drive. Arthur curved an arm around his waist to give the brunet more room to sit. 

Fifteen minutes of driving later, they had reached Hunith’s neighborhood. Everybody loved visiting Merlin’s mum, so they’d all decided that nothing sounded better than a Friday night at her house with hot chocolate and some of her famous pound cake. Lance parked the car and rushed around to help Gwen out while Merlin simply wriggled over Arthur’s lap and out the door before Arthur could even realize the car had stopped. 

“I love your sister, really I do, but if I have to take the middle on the way back, I will personally poison every cup of coffee you ever drink,” Merlin threatened. Arthur just laughed and slung an arm around Merlin’s shoulders, pulling him in tight in the cold air. 

“Let’s go, _Mer_ lin, I want to make sure I get some cake before Morgana eats it all,” Arthur said. Morgana tossed a venomous look at him over her shoulder, but Merlin quaked with laughter beside him. They set off down the pavement towards Hunith’s, still laughing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Slowly but surely darlings, I am catching up!


	14. Ice Skating

“It’s really coming down out there, boys,” Hunith said, looking outside the window as the snow came down. Merlin and Arthur had stepped into the kitchen to help her, and now were doing most of the work on the hot chocolate while Hunith fretted over the weather. 

“Lance is a great driver, and if all else fails, Arthur can drive,” Merlin said, setting a gallon of milk out for Arthur to warm up over the stove. “It’ll be fine, Mum.”

It wasn’t fine. It snowed the entire time that the group sat in Hunith’s sitting room, laughing and talking over mugs of hot chocolate. By the time everyone was getting up to leave, it had snowed nearly six inches on top of the ice that covered the roads, with more still coming down. 

“I don’t think you need to risk the roads tonight,” Hunith said with a frown. 

“But Mrs. Emrys, you don’t have the room for all of us!” Lance protested. Hunith’s frown deepened until Morgana spoke up. 

“I know there’s a small hotel down the road, how about Lance, Gwen and I drive down there and I’ll get us rooms for the night. Merlin, you and Arthur can stay here. I’ll call you the moment we get there, and we won’t go too fast,” Morgana said, honeying her words until Hunith nodded her agreement. 

Merlin and Arthur stayed in the living room while Hunith watched anxiously out the front door until the taillights of Lance’s car were out of sight. She then stared at Merlin’s phone in her hand until it rang, with Morgana on the other end confirming that yes, they’d gotten there fine, and yes, they’d gotten a room so Hunith needn’t worry about anything. After Morgana’s call, Hunith visibly relaxed and told the boys she’d be going up to bed. 

“Oh, and Merlin? The lake froze solid last week,” she said with a grin, jerking a thumb over her shoulder to the closet where she kept the skates. 

Arthur looked at Merlin in confusion. 

“Don’t laugh,” Merlin warned. “When I was little, I used to sneak out when the lake froze and skate on it. Mum didn’t find out until one morning I came down with a sprained ankle and realized I’d left the skates out.” Merlin’s face was flushed crimson. “I must have left them out when I’d come in, and from then on Mum just made me swear to only go out after she was sure it was frozen.”

“Honest?” Arthur demanded. Merlin nodded. “That’s insane! My dad would’ve _murdered_ me for that.”

“Well that’s because your father’s a gigantic prat and my mum’s a saint,” Merlin retorted. It cut a little deep for some reason, and Arthur curved in a bit at the words. Merlin immediately saw and stepped over to wrap his arms around Arthur’s shoulders. “Hey, I’m sorry,” Merlin whispered, pressing a tentative kiss just under Arthur’s ear. “I didn’t mean it like that. I just… I don’t know what I meant.”

Arthur leaned into Merlin’s arms. “No, you’re… you’re right. My dad isn’t the best. But…” 

“But he’s still your dad. I understand,” Merlin said. “Let’s go to bed.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Winter break!!! School is over so I will be doing more of this and hopefully be caught up by Monday.


	15. Having a Snowball Fight

Arthur rolled over and sighed at the cramped quarters. He and Merlin had gone straight to bed the previous night; curling up together on Merlin’s old double bed in his childhood bedroom. Merlin was clingy in his sleep, wrapping arms around Arthur’s shoulders and flinging a leg over his hip at one point in the night. Currently, he was snoring away on Arthur’s shoulder, dark hair matted and sticking up from the night. Finally, an opportunity to watch him wake up. 

“Merlin,” he hissed, “ _Mer_ lin, wake up!” 

“Marf,” Merlin replied eloquently, pressing his face into Arthur’s neck to hide from the morning. 

“Merlin, I’m serious. It snowed last night, let’s go see it!” Merlin cracked open an eye, looking moderately more interested. “We can have a snowball fight with Morgs and Gwen. Lance can ref,” Arthur cajoled. Merlin cracked a grin, and leapt from the bed. Within fifteen minutes they were out in the snow and Lance pulled up with Morgana and Gwen in tow. 

Arthur popped his head up from behind the wall of the snow fort he and Merlin were building. “What’re the rules, Lance?” he asked. Lance grinned.

“No headshots and Morgana isn’t allowed to add _anything_ to the snow,” Lance said. Arthur shuddered at the thought of what Morgana could do to a snowball given half a chance, and hoped Lance would be keeping an eye on her. 

He and Merlin waited until Gwen and Morgana had built up a wall to crouch behind, and then let loose the barrage of snowballs they’d made while waiting. Despite their head start, they started losing badly to the girls. Gwen made snowballs like a machine, and Morgana had deadly accuracy in her throws and packed a surprisingly large amount of force into what was essentially a vaguely solid ball of water. Soon, he and Merlin were hunkered down in their fort, occasionally popping up to throw a snowball towards the attacks. Ultimately, they wound up raising Merlin’s scarf –so what if it wasn’t _technically_ a white flag– up on a stick in surrender, and climbing upright by using each other for support. 

They all trooped into the house once more, managing to weasel more cake and hot chocolate from Hunith before debating if the roads were cleared enough. Finally they decided they were, and once again they were packed into the car for a drive back to the city. 

Halfway there, Merlin sneezed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will catch up! I can do this!


	16. Catching a Cold from Being Outside so Much

By the next day, Merlin’s sneeze had evolved into a full-blown cold, complete with fever and rivers of snot. 

“You look disgusting,” Arthur said encouragingly, adding another blanket to Merlin’s ever-growing cocoon of sickness. Merlin grumbled and waved a hand out for more tissues, which Arthur cheerfully provided. “It’s your own fault, you’re the one who constantly wants to play out in the snow.”

Merlin sniffed loudly. “Mabes id more unvair,” he said, his words garbled by the congestion. He gave another, more pathetic, sniffle, and Arthur nearly howled with laughter. “Nod vunny,” Merlin sulked. 

“Don’t look at me like that,” Arthur chided, “Or I’ll eat what Freya brought for you.” Merlin looked horror-stricken at the threat, which Arthur counted as a point in his favor as he left Merlin’s bedroom and went into the kitchen. Merlin’s coworker had brought by some chicken noodle soup when she’d heard Merlin was sick. According to Merlin, Freya was some sort of cooking deity, and he assumed that her soup would live up to legendary expectations. 

He ladled out a large portion of soup for Merlin –who hadn’t eaten since the prior morning at Hunith’s– and a slightly smaller amount for himself, since he’d actually been taking care to do silly things like eat and drink. Once the bowls were heating in the microwave, he set about pouring a cup of orange juice, and another of water, and then filling a pitcher with more in case Merlin needed refills. He glanced at the microwave; there was just enough time to go leave the juice and water in Merlin’s room, much to the man’s confusion, and he made it back right before the microwave beeped. 

The soup bowls were scorching hot, but when he tested the soup it was the perfect temperature for eating, so he wrapped his hands in kitchen towels to carry the steaming bowls back to Merlin’s bedroom. The moment the door swung open at the tap of Arthur’s foot, Merlin sat up and took a deep breath. 

“Smells good,” Merlin managed before sneezing violently. 

“Drink your juice first,” Arthur reprimanded, nodding towards the still-full cup of orange juice sitting by Merlin on the bedside table. 

Merlin held his hands up in mock-surrender and drank down his juice at the speed of light before making grabby hands at the soup. Arthur passed the larger bowl over, warning Merlin against the potential burns, but Merlin ignored him and seemed to savor the warmth. 

He immediately started to slurp at the soup, and groaned at the taste. Arthur followed suit, and was surprised at how much he liked it. Normally, he wasn’t much a soup person, but this wasn’t bad. And after playing in the cold so often the past few days, this was exactly what he needed. 

Merlin drank the broth from his bowl and scarfed down the vegetables, then drank two full glasses of water while Arthur slowly ate his soup a spoonful at a time. By the time Arthur was finished, Merlin had fallen asleep beside him, snoring loudly through his clogged nose. Arthur ruffled his hair fondly. 

“Feel better, love,” Arthur whispered, before pressing a chaste kiss to his forehead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know the past few have been short, but I've got a surprise lined up for next chapter, so thank you all!


	17. Spending Time with Family/Friends

By the following morning, Merlin was feeling well enough that Arthur felt okay leaving him home alone. “I’ll just be gone an hour, and if you need anything, call me right away, okay?” Arthur said, after double-checking that there was soup warming on the stove and plenty of blankets nearby.

“My mum wasn’t even this bad, Arthur, go do what you need to!” Merlin insisted, giving Arthur a shove towards the door. Arthur went, still trying to give Merlin last minute instructions right up until the door was closed. From there, he left the building, admiring the look of the snow in the park while also getting annoyed at the grey grimy slush that surrounded his feet as he walked to the Tube. 

He got off his stop and walked a few blocks to the wrought iron gates covered in ice. They swung open easily before him, and he followed the now-familiar path to where a particular tree stood in the corner of the lot. He was grateful for the shelter the tree gave, because it meant that the stone bench beneath it was mostly snow-free and he could sit on it without getting soaked through. 

“Hey, Mum.” Arthur looked down at the polished marble in front of the bench. _Ygraine Pendragon_ was carved at the top, and towards the bottom, were her birth and death dates along with the simple epitaph _Devoted Mother, Beloved Wife_.

“I know I haven’t visited in a while, but I had something I wanted to tell you,” Arthur began. He’d felt foolish the first few times he’d come here, having discovered the site of his mother’s burial not from his father, but from a piece of paper he’d found while clearing out the attic in search of a fishing rod. After the first few visits, though, he found himself feeling lighter somehow after speaking to his mother. He knew she wasn’t really there, and recognized that it probably wasn’t healthy to keep doing it, but if it helped, he was going to keep it up. She’d died so suddenly, and he’d been so young, it felt good to feel like there was someone he could always talk to. Normally that someone was Merlin, but in this case…

“I finally did it. I kissed Merlin, and it actually… well, it went surprisingly well. We’ve been- I don’t actually know what we’ve been, but it’s been good. Really good. And it’s only been a week or so, but I’m thinking all these crazy things, things I’ve been thinking for a while actually, but I’m wanting to _say_ them, out loud, _to Merlin_ , and it’s insane, but I might actually do it. Mum, I can’t tell him yet, because he’s _Merlin_ , but he’s got me. Mind, heart and soul, he’s got me.”

“You should see him, especially this time of year, it’s like he just- he lights up. It’s enough to make me want it to snow all the time, and you know how much I hate it. He’s dragged me outside a half dozen times this week to play in it, like you used to with me and Morgs. He even made me send Father a card. _Father_.”

“I’ll bring him by someday. Right now… it’s too new, and I still don’t even know what we are. But…”

Arthur paused, and looked down at his hands where they sat folded in his lap. His cheeks were warmed and he knew he was smiling more than anyone should at a graveyard, but he finished talking. 

“You’d love him, Mum. And… I think I might, too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What, it counts as family!


	18. One Lending the Other a Coat/Hat/Scarf to Keep Warm

Arthur hurried home a little while later, having spent a bit longer talking about what he’d gotten Merlin for Christmas and other things that had happened in his life. By the time he reached the flat, he was thoroughly frozen, and nearly cried when he came in and found Merlin had built up the fire and curled up before it. 

When Merlin came in from the kitchen, still looking a bit peaked, Arthur was curled up in a blanket sitting inches from the fireplace, but still shivering. Merlin crossed the room and laid the back of his hand against Arthur’s cheek. “God, you’re freezing!” he said, already tugging at his hat and scarf. 

“Yeah, oddly enough I’m aware of that,” Arthur snapped even as Merlin tugged the hat down over Arthur’s ears and wrapped the scarf around his neck. Merlin brushed Arthur’s fringe away and straightened the scarf a little bit.

“Stay here, I’m gonna make you some tea,” Merlin said. He hustled off to the kitchen, and spent a couple of minutes banging around in there before returning to the living room with tea in one hand and a plate with a few biscuits in the other. “Drink,” Merlin said, putting the tea in Arthur’s hands and popping a biscuit into his own mouth. 

Arthur sipped at his tea quietly. Merlin settled next to him and wormed his way under the blankets to curl up around Arthur’s shoulders. He tucked his nose into the crook of Arthur’s neck. “Good Lord, my nose is warmer than your neck!” Merlin exclaimed, snuggling closer. “Were you outside the entire time you were gone?”

“No,” Arthur muttered, drinking the tea quickly to warm up. Merlin’s body radiated heat to turn the blanket cocoon warm and comfortable. Soon Arthur was drowsing, his head bobbing down and then jerking back up when he realized he was drifting off. 

Merlin smiled indulgently. “Let’s go take a nap,” Merlin whispered. “You’re tired.” Arthur just nodded and let Merlin guide him upright and lead him back to Arthur’s bedroom. They lay down on the bed and curled up, Merlin tucking himself neatly under Arthur’s chin and curling his arms around Arthur’s waist. Merlin made a happy sigh and dragged Arthur after him into sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this one was so short, hopefully the next one will be longer!


	19. Throwing/Attending a Holiday Party

“Jesus!” Merlin spluttered. “What did you put in this eggnog, Gwaine?” 

Gwaine grinned. He and his flatmate, Percy, had decided to host a Christmas party. Merlin suspected it was Percy’s way of thanking them for keeping Gwaine out of trouble most nights of the week. The boys weren’t much for decorating, so their concession to the holiday was a tiny evergreen bought down at Tesco’s seated on the edge of the food table. 

“I think it’s rum, brandy, and probably some bourbon. God knows I shouldn’t let him into the kitchen, but he snuck in when I stepped out to call Gwen,” Percy sighed, sipping at the eggnog with a grimace on his face. Gwen and Lance were off being disgustingly cute with the non-alcoholic punch bowl, Morgana and Leon were making eyes at each other over cocktails while Gwaine stood between them drinking, and Arthur- well, Arthur was standing right beside him, overly-alcoholic eggnog in one hand while the other arm was wrapped around Merlin’s waist. 

They hadn’t specifically told any of their friends about their change in relationship, but judging by the relived looks Gwen and Lance kept shooting their way and the eye-roll Morgana had given them the moment they stepped through the door, Arthur wearing Merlin’s pilfered hat, everybody seemed to have guessed it. 

“If Gwaine doesn’t turn that damn music down I might actually commit murder,” Arthur said conspiratorially in Merlin’s ear. 

“I might help you,” Merlin replied, taking a drink without thinking and wincing as he tasted the alcohol. Percy glanced between the two of them and raised a knowing eyebrow at Merlin. “Shut it, Perce.” 

Percy laughed. “It’s just good to see you two, like this, you know?” 

“Like what?” Arthur asked, frowning at Percy a bit. Percy just smiled.

“Together. Of course, it means I owe Morgana fifty quid, but I’m willing to sacrifice it for the sake of true love,” Percy said.

Arthur pulled back, stepping away from Merlin and looking spooked. “Whoa! No one said anything about love!” Arthur exclaimed, maybe a bit too loud. Gwaine looked up from where he and Leon were chatting. “I- I don’t _love_ Merlin!”

Merlin stepped back, hurt. It was way too soon for the l-word, but there was definitely potential for it. And hearing Arthur react like that- it stung. “You don’t?” Merlin asked lowly. The way Arthur had been looking at him lately, especially since they started this thing, it made him hope… well it didn’t matter what it made him hope for, since clearly Arthur didn’t feel that way. 

“I- I-” Arthur looked startled, and reached out to him but Merlin stepped away. 

“Don’t. Just- don’t. I’m going home,” Merlin said, setting his eggnog down on the table and heading for the door. By now, everyone was staring at them. He nodded towards the party, and looked back to Arthur, who was frozen where Merlin had left him, staring at him like he was lost. “Goodbye, Arthur.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hahaha yeah I'd like to apologize for this. But I won't. Because I'm not actually sorry. How did plot get here at all. I don't even know.


	20. One Surprising the Other with an Early Gift

Arthur stood there in the middle of the sitting room while Merlin slid on his coat and left the building. Percy stood there with his eyes wide, openly staring at Arthur like everyone else in the room was. It was silent for a minute, until finally someone spoke. 

“Well, go after him, Princess!” Gwaine shouted. Arthur broke from his stupor and looked around the room in bewilderment. Gwen and Lance were nodding encouragingly, Leon made an urging motion with his hands, Morgana was clearly threatening him with her eyebrows alone, and Percy had lost the surprised look to instead smile positively towards him. 

“Go! You’re wasting time,” Morgana finally said. Arthur shook his head and nodded, grabbing his coat as he ran out the door after Merlin. 

He pounded down the staircase and out onto the street. His eyes roved the roads frantically, praying that Merlin hadn’t hailed a cab. At first he didn’t see him, but on the second glance he saw the ridiculous coat emerge from between two buildings. 

“Merlin! Merlin, wait!” Arthur shouted, but the moment Merlin heard his name called, he started running, his feet pounding against the snow while Arthur tried desperately to keep up. “Merlin!” he said, finally catching up and reaching his arm out, snagging the coat hem with his fingertips. Merlin jerked to a halt and whirled on Arthur. 

“No! Not right now, Arthur, just give me time to cool off. You’ve humiliated me in front of my friends and now I need time, and you have to give me that!” Merlin shouted, yanking his wrist out from Arthur’s grasp. “Give me that, Arthur, just that!”

Arthur frowned. “Merlin, just let me explain-”

“I really don’t want to hear it, Arthur. Not right now. Maybe later, when I’ve cooled off, but _not right now_ ,” Merlin spat. Arthur reached out again, and Merlin took a step back from his hand. 

“Merlin, _please_ , just listen to me,” Arthur begged. Merlin turned away but Arthur followed, horrified to see the glimmer of tears on his cheek. “Just for five minutes, forget everything I said back there and listen.”

The brunet bit his lip but nodded, and Arthur nearly fell to his knees in relief. “Okay, I know what I said was horrible, and I’m an absolute arse for saying it, especially in front of everybody like that but I said it because I was scared.” Merlin opened his mouth to say something, but Arthur barreled on. “No, just wait. I was terrified, Merlin. This, with you, it’s new and frightening.” He stepped closer to Merlin, bending his head down a bit so he wouldn’t have to meet Merlin’s eyes. “I- I love you, Merlin.”

Merlin was frozen, stock-still and staring while Arthur shook slightly and started to backtrack. “I don’t expect you to say the same, it’s insane, we haven’t even been together for a month and I drop this on you. It’s unfair, and stupid, but after what I said to Percy I just needed to make sure you know that I didn’t mean it the way it came out. I’m in love with you, and I’ve been in love with you, and I’ll be in love with you for the foreseeable future and probably beyond that. And wow that was more than I wanted to say, but it’s the truth.”

Arthur fell silent, waiting for Merlin to spurn him or laugh or tease. Instead, Merlin threw his arms around Arthur’s shoulders and buried his face in Arthur’s neck. Arthur caught him and held him close on instinct. “Oh thank God,” Merlin whispered into his neck. “I was afraid it was just me, I thought I was going crazy.” Arthur sighed in relief, cradling Merlin’s head into him with one hand and pressing his other hand against the small of Merlin’s back. “I love you, Arthur, and I don’t care if it’s too soon.”

The blonde pulled back a bit, just enough to lift Merlin’s head to meet his gaze. “I love you, Merlin Emrys,” he whispered, leaning in and kissing Merlin quietly. 

Merlin leaned into the kiss, both of them ignoring the cold and the snow that had started to fall. “I love you, Arthur Pendragon.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cliche upon cliche and I'm not even sorry! (btw the gift is the I love you)


	21. Spending the Evening in a Café

“Let me make this up to you,” Arthur said, pulling back but keeping hold of Merlin’s hand. “Let me take you out on a proper date, tonight.” Merlin seemed hesitant. “Please, I’ve never taken you on a date, and I want to do this right with you.” Finally, Merlin nodded. 

“Okay. Let’s go. Take me out,” Merlin said, gesturing before him with his free hand. Arthur grinned widely and tugged Merlin down the street with his free hand. His heart was pounding with leftover adrenaline from his confession, and he could feel his phone vibrating every few seconds with a text message, most likely from their friends worrying over the pair of them. 

He led Merlin a few blocks away to where he knew a café he enjoyed was. It’d be perfect for their first official date, casual enough that they wouldn’t look underdressed but nice enough that he didn’t look like an idiot. “Come on, you’ll like this,” Arthur said, opening the door to the café and letting Merlin go inside first. 

The brunet’s eyes lit up as he took in the café. Normally, Arthur avoided this café this time of the year, because they went all out for Christmas. This meant that it was the perfect place for a date with Merlin. It was more heavily decorated than their flat. Twinkle lights and tinsel covered nearly every surface, there was a large tree in the corner covered in reflective and sparkling baubles, and everything smelled of coffee and sugary peppermint. 

“This is… perfect!” Merlin gasped. His eyes reflected the lights a thousand times over while he grinned at the café and everything in it. Arthur smiled and took Merlin’s coat over to the loveseat he was eyeing by the window. 

“Go get in line, I’ll be right there,” Arthur said, giving Merlin a little push on the shoulder towards the counter. Merlin went up and got in line, and Arthur joined him a few minutes later once the coats were settled properly and he’d had a moment to knock the snow off of his boots. He went up behind Merlin and slid his hands gently around his waist, sliding his head over Merlin’s shoulder. “See something you like?” Arthur asked, indicating towards the hanging menu. 

Merlin turned around, giving Arthur a brief hug before stepping back- they were in public, after all. “Yeah, but I somehow doubt blonde clotpole is on the menu,” Merlin replied smoothly. Arthur’s mouth guppied for a moment before he snapped back to reality. 

“Cute, _Mer_ lin,” Arthur said. “You’re up, pick something quick,” he urged, smiling as Merlin stammered his way through an impromptu order, and Arthur tacked his own on before sliding his card over and ignoring Merlin’s attempts to pay for his own drink. The barista gave them a card and instructed them to sit down and wait for their order. 

Arthur led Merlin over to the loveseat and sat down next to him. He slid an arm around Merlin’s shoulders and held him close to his side, reveling in having him close and being _allowed_ to have him close. Soon their drinks would arrive, and maybe they would talk, but for now, everything was muted conversations around them and dim fairy lights shining above them. Arthur pressed a kiss to Merlin’s forehead. For once, things were going okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So close to caught up I can taste it!


	22. Making S’mores

A few hours later Merlin and Arthur rattled into the flat, arms around each other’s waists and laughing. “God, I’m starving,” Arthur groaned as they toed off their boots and shrugged out of their coats. 

“Come help me in the kitchen and you might get something out of it,” Merlin teased, heading into the kitchen with Arthur trailing behind him. “Get out the marshmallows.” 

Arthur stretched up, and Merlin had to pause in what he was doing to admire the curve of Arthur’s back. Arthur tugged the bag of marshmallows down from the highest shelf and passed it over to Merlin, who pulled out the graham crackers and chocolate. 

“Light the stove up,” Merlin instructed, passing over the box of matches. Arthur nodded and lit the stove up while Merlin broke the graham crackers into halves and spread them over a plate with a few pieces of chocolate on each cracker. 

“Got the skewers,” Arthur said, stabbing a few marshmallows onto the ends of skewers. They stood in the kitchen, huddled around the stove, Arthur working pitifully hard to keep his marshmallows evenly browned while Merlin leapt straight in and caught the marshmallow on fire, burning it black on the outside until Arthur made a disgusted face and Merlin slammed the marshmallow between the crackers and chocolate. 

“That’s disgusting, how do you eat them like that? They’re practically raw,” Merlin said, biting into his s’more happily. 

Arthur scoffed. “Says the man who eats his as charcoal,” he said through a mouthful of marshmallow. 

“I can’t believe you’re the man I’m dating,” Merlin muttered, wiping away some chocolate from the corner of his mouth. 

“I can,” Arthur laughed, leaning in and licking where Merlin had just wiped. Merlin made a surprised noise and pushed futilely at Arthur’s shoulder. He pressed their lips together briefly, savoring the taste of chocolate and smiling a bit at the sticky feeling of marshmallow on his boyfriend’s lips. “You’re amazing, you know that?” Arthur said quietly. 

Merlin smiled. “You’re decent, yourself,” he replied. 

Arthur smiled indulgently and kissed him again. “Idiot.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How cute! Adorable babies making s'mores.


	23. Having Drinks together on Christmas Eve

They spent the next day lazing around the house, reluctant to do much because they’d be doing so much on Christmas Day, running from brunch with Uther, the latest stepmother, and Morgana to have a cuppa with Gwen and Lance to supper with Hunith. It was nice to have Christmas Eve at home, spending it with each other and not having to worry about anyone else. Merlin had texted everyone at the party and let them know that he and Arthur had made up, so they didn’t have to worry about people banging down the door to tear Arthur apart (although judging by Morgana’s texts, she might actually do it anyway). 

So they ordered in Chinese, sitting against the couch with the fire roaring and a glass of wine each as they talked over the plans for the next day. 

“I still think you’re exaggerating about your father,” Merlin said. “Surely he isn’t that bad on _Christmas_.”

Arthur shook his head while scooping up some rice. “Worse, even.” When Merlin looked scandalized, he continued. “Not everyone views Christmas like some idyllic dream, Merlin,” he said slowly. 

Merlin set his food aside and crawled over to Arthur, moving away Arthur’s food as well to sit right in front of him. “Well they should. It’s important, especially for family,” Merlin said fiercely, his eyes lighting up. Arthur smiled tightly. 

“Well, not mine,” Arthur replied. Merlin frowned at him, brining his eyebrows down low and studying Arthur deeply. Arthur ducked his head down, but Merlin chased him and pulled his chin up to meet each other’s gaze. 

“No, you’ve got more than one family, Arthur. You’ve got Uther and the stepmother, yeah, but you’ve also Gwaine, Leon, Lance, Gwen, Morgana…” he trailed off, brushing a hand gently along Arthur’s brow. 

“And you,” Arthur interrupted. “You’re my family, too.” 

Merlin nodded his agreement. “And me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fic had like two chapters of angst and then I felt bad so it's just been fluff the rest of the time.


	24. Sneaking Around After the Other has Fallen Asleep to Put Up Their Gifts

They fell asleep that night on Arthur’s bed, Merlin tucked up against Arthur’s chest. Well, Merlin fell asleep. Arthur stayed awake until he was certain Merlin was sound asleep, and then carefully extricated himself from his boyfriend’s embrace. He hissed at how cold the floor was against his feet, but braved the chill outside of the blankets to pull Merlin’s Christmas gift out from its hiding place beneath the bed. 

He’d given up on wrapping it ages ago, and wound up just putting it in a gift bag with a lot of tissue paper. It still looked nice enough; the bag was gold and sparkly at Gwen’s recommendation. Arthur crept out of the bedroom and towards the sitting room, and with the room dimly lit by the fairy lights Merlin had left on, he set the sparkling bag beneath the tree. Everything was set for the next morning. Everything was perfect. He hurried back to the bedroom, and stopped dead at the sight of Merlin in his bed. 

He took a moment to catch his breath. Merlin was _gorgeous_ , sprawled out completely against his own red sheets and bedding, pale skin reflecting the scraps of light that drifted in from the window, dark hair mussed from moving in his sleep but still somehow perfect, and of course, ears as large and ridiculous as ever, but somehow endearing. 

Arthur climbed into bed and tucked himself under one of Merlin’s out-flung arms. Merlin was so _warm_ , angular but soft in Arthur’s arms. And that’s how Arthur fell asleep, Merlin’s arm around him and Merlin’s breath in his ear. 

 

Merlin stirred in the early hours of morning, perhaps three o’clock, to stumble out of bed. Thankfully, Arthur was snoring away, and he’d always been a heavy sleeper. It let Merlin sneak out into the living room and pull Arthur’s present from the closet. He’d wrapped the gift up when Arthur had left for an hour or so a few days prior, and now it sat perfectly lovely underneath the Christmas tree, beside what was presumably Arthur’s gift for Merlin. He’d thought himself so clever, getting up after Merlin had ‘fallen asleep’. As if Merlin didn’t wake up the moment he left bed, each and every time. To be fair, he did fall asleep almost the moment he realized Arthur was only up for a moment. He didn’t even remember Arthur coming back to bed, but when he’d woken up, Arthur had been fast asleep. He hid the present, and nearly sprinted back to bed, happy to dive back under the covers and wrap his arms around Arthur as he fell asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Almost done people!


	25. Spending Christmas Morning Together

Arthur didn’t often wake up before Merlin, but when he did, it was wonderful. Warm, comfortable, and really, really wonderful. Normally, he’d savor the moment and sit quietly just looking and waiting for Merlin to wake up, but there were only a few hours before they both had to leave for Uther’s home in the country, so Arthur reached over and shook Merlin’s shoulder softly. 

“Merlin, if you don’t open your eyes, I’m taking your present back,” Arthur laughed. Merlin’s eyes flew open and he started to smile before he was even fully awake. He climbed out of bed and sprinted towards the door, Arthur right behind him giving chase. “Merlin, don’t even think of opening those presents without me!” Arthur crashed into the living room to find Merlin sitting cross-legged on the ground with his hair a messy halo around his face. His smile was glowing as he sat in front of the tree with the lights lit and ornaments sparkling. 

“Well? Care to join me?” Merlin asked, the golden bag already in his lap. Arthur bent over and picked up the red-wrapped gift –complete with gold ribbons– and sat down across from Merlin. Arthur smiled, and gave Merlin a nod to tell him to unwrap. Merlin grinned and undid the ribbons that held the handles of the bag together and started to remove the tissue paper. “Oh!” he exclaimed as the gift was revealed. “Arthur, it’s perfect!” In his hands was a leather-bound book on the origins of the Celtic languages and their evolution over time. 

Arthur blushed, looking down in his lap and fiddling with the ribbons on the gift. “Well, you mentioned you’d wanted to major in it but it didn’t have many prospects outside of teaching,” Arthur said. “I figured you’d like a book on it.”

Merlin leaned over and wrapped an arm around Arthur in an embrace. “Thank you,” he said, and leaned back. “Now go on, open yours!” 

The blond smiled and picked at the ribbons until they fell apart neatly, and then he pried the wrapping paper apart to reveal the gift. “Merlin! How did you know mine broke?” Arthur asked, pulling the pocketknife from its box. It was perfect, the ideal replacement for the one he’d had since he turned fifteen. “You’re brilliant, Merlin.” 

He leaned over and pressed a kiss to Merlin’s cheek. “Let’s go get some breakfast, okay?” Arthur grinned and helped Merlin to his feet as he slipped the pocketknife into his waistband pending actual pockets to keep it in. Merlin leapt up, book in hand, and followed Arthur to the kitchen with a smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And now we're done... though I may come back to play in this verse a bit, I really enjoyed writing it!


End file.
